Clash between Palestinian protestors and Israeli forces. [Middle East Monitor]

Intifada without a leadership

Since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli clashes at the beginning of the month, one distinction was highlighted: the absence of a political and field leader. Meanwhile, the Palestinian youth continue to face the Israeli army individually, even in carrying out their armed operations, as well as the stabbings and hit-and-runs. This raises many questions regarding the absence of a leader and the ability of the Palestinian youth to continue their intifada without a leader.

Almost a month since the outbreak of Palestinian-Israeli clashes in the West Bank and Jerusalem in late September, the Palestinian factions still have not claimed responsibility for the incidents, and it seems that the actions in the arena are being committed spontaneously and randomly without a leadership to guide them.

There are Palestinian demands for the need to quickly form a unified national leadership to lead the intifada, in order to coordinate and maintain the national efforts and develop them. This would include the restoration of the PA’s leadership in Gaza, because if it remains in the West Bank, this will inevitably lead to the thwarting and abortion of the intifada. It is worth noting the Palestinian leaderships’ delay in addressing the clashes, occurring weeks after they broke out.

The lack of a leadership for the uprising has become the main issue amongst Palestinians, as many have called for a field, rather than central leadership capable of planning and guiding the confrontation of the provocative Israeli decisions. Others have stressed the need for the intifada to remain spontaneous without a head to move and control it. A third opinion is that the success of the spontaneous popular uprising is irrefutable proof of the Palestinian organisations and their leaderships’ failure in its political performance of the past years. Meanwhile, others believe that rushing into the formation of a political leadership will harm the intifada because the leaderships of the factions are incapable and did not have a role in the outbreak of the uprising.

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The network continues the work of the Christians who issued the Iona call in 2012, and the subsequent writing of our key publication ‘Time for Action’. We seek a just and lasting peace in the region based on the realisation of full human and political rights for all.